This painting is titled “The Lighthouse at Two Lights” by Edward Hopper. Hopper was born on July 22, 1882 in Nyack, NY. He was a realist painter and printmaker. He was well known for his oil paintings but also worked with watercolor and etching. Many pieces of his artwork can be found at the Whitney Museum of American Art as well as The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“The Lighthouse at Two Lights” is an oil painting that was created in 1929 that can be found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This version is one of several that Hopper produced in 1927 as well as 1929. The painting is a still life of a lighthouse that is located in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, which was a place in which Hopper would regularly vacation at . According to edwardhopper.net, “ Hopper isolated the dramatic silhouette of the 120-foot-high lighthouse tower and adjoining Coast Guard station against the open expanse of blue sky…though no water is visible in the painting, the architecture is bathed in bright sunlight offset by dark shadows… To Hopper, the lighthouse at Two Lights symbolized the solitary individual stoically facing the onslaught of change in an industrial society.”
This work reflects modernism through the use of cubism and impressionism. At first glance, you see the geometric figures hidden in the creation of the lighthouse. You see shapes such as squares, rectangles and triangles as soon as you look at the painting. This work also gives off a feeling of comfort and relaxation, almost as if you were sitting on the grass looking up at the lighthouse from afar. You also know where the light is coming from and can almost assume where it would pass as the sun is setting.
I encountered this piece of art while exploring the first floor of the Modern and Contemporary Art section at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was one of the only artworks that made me feel relaxed and at home. I was drawn to this piece of art by it’s freshness and comfort. There is just something about this painting that makes me feel like I am in it when I look at it. I also liked how the painting is blended to a point where it looks somewhat blurry.
Ana, Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this painting. I tend not to think of Hopper as a modernist because his attention to detail and his painting techniques seem more in line with representational art (realism), but your comments helped me to look at him with fresh eyes and consider him in the context of Modernism! I am still curious about your choice and about what makes this painting feel “relaxing” for you.